Israeli troops expect another round of violent clashes with the Palestinians, including exchanges of gunfire like last month's, reported the Jerusalem Post.

The daily quoted a senior military source as saying that the "eruption could come almost immediately if the current round of peace talks with the Palestinians ends, for example, without a commitment from Israel for a third withdrawal."

The chances of violence erupting grows as we approach September 13th, a date Palestinian president Yasser Arafat has said he would declare a state, the senior military source said, adding that the date was not necessarily sacred, said the daily.

According to the source, the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, coupled with the death of Syrian president Hafez Assad, would cause the Palestinians to harden their stance in negotiations.

"The pressures being put on Arafat from Islamic extremists who are praising Hizbullah for showing that violence pays against Israel and for adopting the stance that Israel must withdraw to the very last centimeter," he was quoted as saying.

"The Palestinian streets sees this as the first time since the peace process started in Madrid [in 1991] that armed struggle has been successful," the source was quoted as saying - Albawaba.com